Buried: Heroin Production Up, NATO Control Down in Afghanistan

Poppy production is on the rise in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to a recent IWPR report. The region is (or was, depending on whose assessment you believe) a Taliban stronghold. In any case, the Taliban certainly has a large presence there, and is willing to fight — which is what makes the increased poppy production worrisome to the allied NATO forces. Poppy resin is also known as opium; opium can be refined into heroin; and both drugs are enormously profitable and highly convertible into cash, making them the perfect products for a stateless militia like the Taliban to exploit. NATO has made a point of reducing poppy production and has tried to institute food-crop programs, but at $1,000 per kilogram, opium is naturally a big draw. Its increased price this year may well indicate that production elsewhere in Afghanistan has been successfully reduced. But its increased production in Helmand indicates that NATO's control of the strategically important region is incomplete.

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